Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Andrew the Apostle,

Please read the bulletin or our parish website for all the St. Andrew's news and events. Here is a glimpse of what is coming up in the coming weeks:

• Our Annual St. Nicholas Bake Sale takes place after all Masses this weekend. Proceeds support the Religious Education and Family and Respect Life ministries at St. Andrew's. Donations of baked goods are always welcome!
• We are also having a coat drive this weekend at all Masses. Please leave donations of new or lightly used winter coats, hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves in Hannan Hall.
• Our High School Youth Group will meet after the 5:30 PM Vigil Mass tonight.
• All Giving Tree donations are due by the end of the 12:30 PM Mass on Sunday, December 8.
• Monday, December 9, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation. Masses will be at 6:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 7:00 PM.
• Thursday, December 12, is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. Come join us for a special feast day Mass at 7:00 PM followed by a reception in Hannan Hall!
• We will bless figurines from your Christmas creches after all Masses next weekend, December 14 and 15.
• Next Saturday, December 14, the Knights of Columbus will host their annual St. Nicholas Party in Hannan Hall from 12:00 noon until 3:00 PM. Please RSVP here!
• Next Sunday, December 15, we will have our annual Advent Lessons and Carols at 4:00 PM in the church, which combines the music of Advent with readings to prepare us for the coming of our Savior. Our choirs of St. Andrew's will provide the beautiful music. There will be a reception afterward in Hannan Hall.

This Sunday's second collection is for the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington. Among the many services of Catholic Charities in our Diocese are providing food, housing, clothing, counseling, pregnancy care, and adoption services. They offer support to the needy that most parishes do not have the expertise or resources to provide. It is a blessing to have such an organization provided by our Diocese. Bishop Loverde used to call our Catholic Charities the "heart" of the Diocese for all of the good work they do for those in need. Thank you for your generosity. If you feel called to volunteer with Catholic Charities, see their website's "Give Help" section for dozens of opportunities.

... The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is one of the Holy Days of Obligation in our liturgical year. It is celebrated on December 8. However, every few years the Second Sunday of Advent falls on December 8, so the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is transferred to Monday, December 9. That is what is happening this year.

In the past, the U.S. Bishops have dispensed Catholics from the obligation of attending Mass on the Immaculate Conception when it fell on a Monday. However, this year they have chosen not to dispense from the obligation, meaning that all Catholics must attend Mass on Monday, December 9, for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. To freely choose not to go is a grave sin. On Monday, the Masses at St. Andrew's will be at 6:30 AM, 9:00 AM (School Mass), 12:00 PM, and 7:00 PM. There is no vigil on December 8 as it will still be the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

Not that they need my support, but I applaud the Bishops for making this change. I imagine that the original reason to dispense from the obligation on a Monday is that it is difficult to go to Mass two days in a row. However, it is similarly difficult to go to Mass on Sunday and Tuesday, but they do not dispense from Tuesday Holy Days of Obligation. More importantly, our worship of God and our practice of the Catholic faith must be the top priorities of our life. We are called to love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul. Sometimes that will require us to sacrifice, such as finding a time to come to Mass on a work day. However, that is what we do when something is important to us, and nothing is more important than our love of God.

Of course, this is easy to say for a priest who literally lives at the church. When I worked as an engineer, I did have to make the sacrifice to come ot Mass before work or afterward, and it sometimes led to me having to my having to get up earlier or miss some social events. However, sometimes those changes to my schedule would lead to conversations that would show others how much my Catholic faith meant to me compared to the things of the world, and God willing that witness sparked a movement of God's grace in someone who was apart from Christ. We are all called to be such witnesses through our sacrificial love of Jesus and His Church, and we do it best when we do so joyfully and without complaint.

... The Ravens had a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, although not unexpected. The Eagles had won seven in a row, but the Ravens were favored to win. That may have been because the Ravens' quarterback, Lamar Jackson, was 23-1 against NFC opponents going into the game. Now he's 23-2, which is still amazing.

Part of the reason that Jackson, who plays in the AFC, is so successful against the NFC is that the NFC teams do not get to see his unique talents very often. Once a team experiences Jackson's creativity, speed, and accuracy, they has a better idea of what to expect and how to defend against him.

The Eagles have a very good team, but even then, the Ravens only lost by 5, 24-19. During the game, their kicker, Justin Tucker, missed two field goals and an extra point, which is a total of 7 points they could have scored that could have turned the game in their favor. Tucker, who is a practicing Catholic, felt terrible after the game. At one point, he had the highest field goal completion percentage in NFL history, but as he is having the worst year of his career, he's fallen to second place (interestingly enough, behind another prominent Catholic, Harrison Butker).

Two lessons here. First, concerning planning for the unexpected, there is really no way to predict what life will throw at us. We cannot control the world around us, no matter how we try. The best we can do is build up our virtue by forming habits of doing good, even when it is difficult. This requires prayer to root us in the awareness and trust in God's grace. It requires examining our consciences to see where the Evil One is most successful when tempting us. It requires receiving the sacrament of penance to receive God's mercy and be strengthened against those temptations, and the sacrament of the Eucharist to allow Christ to live within us so that we may more freely choose Him over all temptations.

Second, we will fall, sometimes unexpectedly. In those moments, we cannot fall into despair, thinking that we will continue to fail. The Ravens have consistently said that they will keep relying on Tucker, knowing that he can be as good as he once was. They place their faith in him.

We, on the other hand, place our faith in God - not humans - when we stumble and fall. We do our best to follow Christ perfectly, but when we fail - and there will always be moments when we do - we turn back to God, receive His mercy, and continue with faith in Him. It may take us a while to get back on track, but we always remember that with God all things are possible. The more we rely on Him and the closer we get to Him, the greater our faith can carry us through. Even when we fall over and over, our turning back to Christ and his infinite mercy is a movement towards Jesus and a victory over sin. Always returning to God in our struggle with sin is a major part of growing in virtue and can lead us to holiness better than never being tempted at all. So do not despair! Always cling to the Lord!

And go Ravens. They have a bye week this weekend, so they have time to regroup and come back more prepared for what comes ahead in their last four games.

Be assured of my prayers for you and your intentions. Please pray for me as well.

In Christ,

Fr. Wagner